Interviewing a Virtual Assistant: Part 2

I have written a previous article here on Sparkplugging regarding interview questions to ask a virtual assistant however, I felt that I needed to further discuss these questions topic to help those who may be searching and trying to find a virtual assistant to work with on a regular basis.

When you are…actually, let me say…before you interview a virtual assistant, you will want to have these questions (and possibly others) written on a sheet of paper with blank space in between so you space to write in the responses given by the interviewees. Another option may be to record the calls. However, you must tell the person you are recording the call and have their permission to record.

You can ask as many questions as you feel comfortable with asking. And again, as I have mentioned, if you don’t get a good feeling about how someone is answering a question, and feel cautious, maybe write a star on the paper next to the question. Have some type of symbol for yourself to know whether they answered the question to your liking or effectively.

Trust your intuition when you interview a virtual assistant or anyone for that matter. Some people are pretty clever when they wish to be manipulative or hid something, however, you will know and don’t doubt that feeling.

Ok, so now onto more detail in the interview questions—

What is your work schedule? Find out the days and times they are working.
Also ask about their daily schedule. You will want to know if they have to take their kids to band practice 3 times a week or have to go to PTA meetings at 3pm each month.

Now some of you may be saying, wait a minute! I don’t think I need to know so much about their lives, however, it could make the difference to you if they are busy in the afternoon with errands or other obligations, you will know a head of time that they will probably not be available in the afternoon.

Do you work after hours and/or weekends? Now this may be a no-brainer for some might be saying, of course they don’t work after hours or weekends because I don’t. Ok, that is fine. However, you will want to know if there is an emergency or rush project that needs to be completed for you, can you count on them to help. You will want to know if they are willing to work if possible at the time. Also, you want to ask if there is a rate difference for rush projects, working after hours or on weekends.

And if their schedule works for you, then you can move onto the next question. If it really doesn’t work for you, then you can stop right there. It really doesn’t make sense to keep going and waste each other’s time if the schedule isn’t going to work for you.

What is the best way to contact you? Now, some people prefer email, others prefer phone calls. The mutual used method of communication between you and your virtual assistant is critical for this type of business relationship. Your virtual assistant is going to be one of the people you contact a lot and if the communication style is not in sync, that could lead to bigger problems.

How much time do you currently have available in your schedule?
For most virtual assistants that I know, they have multiple clients who request different amount of hours per week or month. So you will want to know if the interviewee already has 75% of time booked, will that remaining time be enough to complete your projects? You will need to know how much time you are wishing to have aside to do the work and if the virtual assistant has the time to complete your tasks.

Do you have client references or clients that I can contact?
Now, this one to me is important because this will give you another way to research about the person you wish to hire as a virtual assistant. Another thing to see is if there are testimonials on their website. These may be enough for you to feel comfortable with hiring the person; however, you have the right to ask if you want for client references. At least that is my opinion on the subject.

Now with these interview questions, as you go through them and with talking with the individuals you will have a much better sense of who “clicks” with you and who doesn’t and that will be a good indicator of whom to talk with more and who probably won’t be a good fit for you and your business.

I know the process seems a bit tedious however, if you are truly looking for someone to be a part of your business team and to have the relationship be long lasting, and then it is best to go through this process at the beginning.

I will be continuing with more interview questions in my next post as well. I will be adding questions regarding a trial period, payment options, operating systems just to name a few.

Stay Tuned!

Teresa Morrow is on Florida Board of Advisors with The WECAI Network ™ and Editor at Large for WE Magazine for Women ™. She has over 15 years working with various industries to include property management, landscape architecture and financial planning firms in executive administrative positions. In 2005, she left the corporate world and managed the daily operations of her husband’s floor cleaning/restoration company. In 2007, Teresa started Key Business Partners, a virtual assistance & online promotional company for coaches, speakers and writers. She cares about her clients and is available for a 20 minute free consultation. You can contact her via email at keybusinesspartners@verizon.net or visit her website at http://www.keybusinesspartners.com .

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. More on Interviewing a Virtual Assistant: Part 3
2. The Many Descriptions of Virtual Assistant
3. Can You be Virtual Assistant? 7 Attributes to be a Successful Virtual Assistant